Sept. 15, 2007
Final Stats
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -
In its first five-game match of the season, Illinois State's volleyball team overcame an 0-2 deficit to post a hard fought 24-30, 26-30, 30-24, 30-25 and 15-10 win over host Evansville at the Carson Center Saturday night. The Redbirds put four players in double figures in kills in the match, led by M.C. Richmond's career-high tying 23 kills.
With the win, the Redbirds improve to 10-3 on the season with a 2-0 Missouri Valley Conference mark. Evansville's six-match winning streak was snapped, and falls to 8-5 and 1-1.
Peggy Riessen (17 kills) Kari Staehlin (17) and Mallory Leggett (11) all joined Richmond with double-digit kills. Erin Lindsey tied her previous career-high with 65 set assists, and Kasey Mollerus led a fivesome of Redbirds with double-digit digs, recording 23 digs. Richmond (22), Leggett (22), and Riessen (21) all had 20 or more digs, as the Redbirds racked up 116 total digs.
"I thought in games three, four and five we really got Kari (Staehlin) going, and got some key contributions from Hailey Kelley and Kasey Mollerus. Kasey serve-received some great balls tonight and her passing really came alive. She is really starting to take over the match. She is at her best when we let her play the entire court.
"We also had great offensive balance tonight, and that proves that our setting is really pacing our team."
Evansville controlled nearly the entire pace of game one, using a late run to post a 30-24 win. Both teams traded points for the first 20 points of the game, before Evansville broke at 10-10 tie with an 8-5 run that gave the Aces an 18-15 advantage. ISU cut the lead to one point (20-19) six points later, but could get no closer for the remainder of the frame. Evansville finished the game on an 11-4 spurt. ISU hit just .138 in the stanza. Richmond had six kills for the Redbirds, while Evansville's Emily Wandersee countered with five.
Evansville went up 2-0 with a 30-26 game two win. ISU took control in the early stages, jumping out to a 10-4 lead. Richmond had two kills and a block in the stretch. But Evansville answered with an 8-1 spurt to take a 12-11 lead, and force ISU into its first timeout of the game. UE's lead grew to 20-15 before the Redbirds mounted a 4-0 spurt to pull within one, 20-19, and force Aces head coach Mike Swan into his first timeout. The Purple Aces responded with a 4-1 run of their own, and Dingman took her final timeout with her team trailing, 24-20. Despite fighting off two game points, ISU could draw no closer than three points for the remainder of the frame, and the Purple Aces coasted to the 30-26 win.
Illinois State led by as many as four points before the Aces tied the game at 14-14 after capitalizing on an 8-4 spree. There were a combined nine ties and lead changes in the ensuing 13 possessions, before Lindsey's serving led the Redbirds on a 4-1 run that gave ISU a 24-21 lead that it would not surrender. The `Birds finished the game on a 6-3 run to secure the 30-24 win. Staehlin had five kills, and Riessen added six in the stanza. The Redbirds racked up 29 digs in the game.
Illinois State trailed just once in game four, but had to withstand several Evansville rallies to post the final 30-25 win. ISU opened up a 13-10 lead and seemed to be in complete control, before the Aces cut the lead to just one (25-24) after mounting a 4-0 run. The Redbirds finished the frame on a 5-1 spree, and capped off the win with a cross-court kill by Richmond.
Both teams traded points over the first 14 possessions of the decisive fifth game, before the Redbirds strung together a 5-1 spurt to take a 12-8 lead, and force UE into its second timeout of the frame. ISU won three of the next four points to post the 15-10 win, and come-from-behind victory. Richmond had three kills and assisted on two blocks in the game.
Illinois State will return home to face Wichita State (Sept. 21) and Missouri State (Sept. 22) next weekend at Redbird Arena. Both match times are set for 7:05 p.m.
